This week on #30Days2Grow, participants are being put to the challenge of working on two things: loyalty and rebooking salon clients. No easy feat. It requires a shift in our thinking. The question shouldn’t be “do you bring up those conversations?” but rather “how do you bring them up effectively with clients?”
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Talking About Your Loyalty Program With Clients: Why & How
Why You Should Talk About It
Let’s take an example we used in a previous blog – with the Phorest TreatCard loyalty system. And bear in mind that this is only one client; imagine applying the concept to even a third of your client base.
“Say you have a regular facial client who spends £/€/$ 40 with you every 5 weeks. They have their Loyalty Key Tag, which they present each time they visit. After 3 or 4 visits, they have enough points for a free reward, which is an Express Manicure normally worth £/€/$ 14. They receive their free Express Manicure on their next visit with their paid regular Facial. This client likes the Express Manicure so much that she now books this along with her regular facial every time, increasing this client’s regular spend by £/€/$ 14 per visit.“
Here’s my point: how can you make that increase in revenue if you don’t tell your clients what your loyalty program is all about, how it works, its benefits and its rewards?
Simple, you can’t.
Related | 25 Salon Conversation Starters To Use With New Clients
Ways You Can Boost Loyalty Awareness
- Have a page on your website dedicated to explaining how your loyalty program works.
- Get a pamphlet designed explaining the program and give it to clients when you give them their key tag.
- Make it part of the conversation at the consultation stage, the checkout or at any other moment. Your salon software will have a range of features that can make this process easier and more natural.
- Advertise your loyalty program in your social media updates or ads, and in your automated appointment reminders or SMS/Email marketing messages.
- Include information on your salon loyalty program in your branded salon app
- Get a client to talk about your program’s benefits in a video and use the testimonial to attract new takers.
- Educate yourself on ways to delight your clients while still adding value to the salon; for example, offering services as “treats” instead of discounts, or ensuring personalised appointment reminders sent from your salon software system.
The One Script You’ll Need For Rebooking Salon Clients
One thing we’ve noticed over time – as clients ourselves, when we go to work in salons for a hands-on perspective or even just with the data we hold – is that the rebooking chat is often left aside. Based on that data, only 20% of the appointments booked through Phorest are rebooked on the day.
Why? Well, the most common reason we’ve heard is “they’ll just book online.”
Fair enough if they do.
But are you willing to leave it to pure chance? Would you not instead at least attempt to rebook them before they leave your premises, after which you become entirely dependent on their word? Clients get busy with work, life and everything in between, and the services you offer are merely forgotten – until something happens to remind them to come back. Rebooking salon clients must be an extension of your customer experience. It doesn’t have to be an awkward question. All you have to do is educate your client… you’re the expert! Help them achieve the best results they can get, and they’ll come back every time.
Catch Phorest Salon Software CEO Ronan Perceval and Award-Winning Salon Owner Ellen Kavanagh discuss this (from 11mins):
Getting clients to rebook isn’t done by asking a simple yes or no question. Asking a simple “Would you like to rebook?” will most likely result in a quick “No thanks” or “I’ll book online.” Instead, try this the educational tactic:
“In order to maintain the best results for this treatment, you would be due back in *insert time* weeks. Does the same day and time work well for you? If anything should come up, we can adjust the appointment.”
It’s estimated that clients who rebook before they leave make an average of 50% more visits per year versus clients who don’t. Convincing enough? If not, I’ve 25 more reasons that will make you think twice about omitting to rebook customers. And for more on acting like the expert you are, tune in to our Phorest FM podcast interview with Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa’s Salon Maitre D’, Gavin Hoare:
For more great tips, check out our full resource on how to set up, run and grow a successful salon business.
Got feedback? Let us know either in the comments below or tweet us @ThePhorestWord! (Pssst! We’re on Instagram too!)
Thanks for reading! #LetsGrow
Featured imaged shot on location of GMALE Barbers, in Dublin. © 2017 Phorest Salon Software.
